1. I saw the Lord standing by the altar, and he said: "Strike the tops of the pillars so that the thresholds shake. Bring them down on the heads of all the people; those who are left I will kill with the sword. Not one will get away, none will escape.

2. Though they dig down to the depths of the grave, [1] from there my hand will take them. Though they climb up to the heavens, from there I will bring them down.

3. Though they hide themselves on the top of Carmel, there I will hunt them down and seize them. Though they hide from me at the bottom of the sea, there I will command the serpent to bite them.

4. Though they are driven into exile by their enemies, there I will command the sword to slay them. I will fix my eyes upon them for evil and not for good."

5. The Lord, the LORD Almighty, he who touches the earth and it melts, and all who live in it mourn-- the whole land rises like the Nile, then sinks like the river of Egypt--

6. he who builds his lofty palace [3] in the heavens and sets its foundation [2] on the earth, who calls for the waters of the sea and pours them out over the face of the land-- the LORD is his name.

7. "Are not you Israelites the same to me as the Cushites [5] ?" declares the LORD. "Did I not bring Israel up from Egypt, the Philistines from Caphtor [4] and the Arameans from Kir?

8. "Surely the eyes of the Sovereign LORD are on the sinful kingdom. I will destroy it from the face of the earth-- yet I will not totally destroy the house of Jacob," declares the LORD.

9. "For I will give the command, and I will shake the house of Israel among all the nations as grain is shaken in a sieve, and not a pebble will reach the ground.

10. All the sinners among my people will die by the sword, all those who say, `Disaster will not overtake or meet us.'

11. "In that day I will restore David's fallen tent. I will repair its broken places, restore its ruins, and build it as it used to be,

12. so that they may possess the remnant of Edom and all the nations that bear my name, [6] " declares the LORD, who will do these things.

13. "The days are coming," declares the LORD, "when the reaper will be overtaken by the plowman and the planter by the one treading grapes. New wine will drip from the mountains and flow from all the hills.

14. I will bring back my exiled [7] people Israel; they will rebuild the ruined cities and live in them. They will plant vineyards and drink their wine; they will make gardens and eat their fruit.

15. I will plant Israel in their own land, never again to be uprooted from the land I have given them," says the LORD your God.